The National Center for Education Statistics’ latest survey of adult skills found that the percentage of US adults ranking at the lowest literacy levels has experienced a “substantial” increase.
Recent research revealed that the percentage of adults performing at the lowest proficiency level in literacy increased from 19% to 28% between the years 2017 and 2023. According to NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr, this change is considered “substantial.”
“It is larger than what we would normally see in an international assessment, particularly literacy, which is a fairly stable construct,” she said at a news conference on Monday.
The survey, also called the Survey of Adult Skills, “is a large-scale international study of key cognitive and workplace skills of adults.”
“Data is collected from adults ages 16–74 in the United States and ages 16–65 in the other countries,” the National Center for Education Studies states. “It is designed to assess and compare adults’ skills in participating countries over a broad range of abilities, from reading simple passages to complex problem-solving skills, and to collect information on an individual’s skill use and background.”
In addition to the increase of adults lacking literacy, there was also an increased percentage of adults who lack numeracy and adaptive problem-solving skills.
According to Carr, low scores don’t necessarily equal illiteracy. However, they can indicate a lack of literacy skills in the adult population.
In terms of why, exactly, there’s been such a “substantial” change since 2017, “it is difficult to say,” Carr stated.
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